


Shadow the Hedgehog 2

by QuickKittie



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Cussing, Meta, Multi, Polyamory, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:42:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23636998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuickKittie/pseuds/QuickKittie
Summary: A plucky catgirl recounts the tale of a cuuuuursed video game.Shadow, plagued by his lonely nature, accepts the mentorship of a mysterious figure who offers him power. In this sequel to his infamous game, Shadow the Hedgehog regains his edge and tries to find love in the process.Tags are updated slowly to avoid spoilers... Where's the smut?It's a work in progress... but hey, aren't we all?





	1. Chapter 1

**SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG 2**

**Preface**

Gather ‘round folks ‘cuz I have a pawwsitively purrfect tale to tell. It’s a heart-wrenching tale of love and twists! A gut-busting story of turns and life and drama and all those other good and bad things that people like in stories! Like many others, this story is about a video game… A cuuuuuursed video game! One with a cuuuurse so dark and secret, that it’ll shake your foundations! It’ll knock your socks off! It’ll knock my pajamas off!

A wary reader might say, ‘Yawn, a cursed video game? That’s old hat! That’s boring! There’s a million of those!’ Which, yeah, it makes me wonder why people put so much time into making cursed things. But this is different. This video game is so cursed that it wasn’t even made! And that’s part of the curse! The studio shut down after they even considered making this game. That’s how cursed it is.

Now I hear the critics saying, ‘Ok right, if it was never made, then how can you tell us about this game?’ And you’d be right to think it’s an imaginary game, a thought experiment. A thought game, like the kind you play on the bus and don’t tell anyone about.

But _I_ have the only known copy of this cursed game, this game from a studio that was shut down before it made the game because it intended to make the game. _I_ have the only copy of this rare piece of media and _I_ am the only one to have played it. That makes it my mission, no my duty (hehe), to pass this information on, to tell the story of this cursed game. And that’s what I intend to do. I pretty much said that in the first paragraph if you were paying attention. Also I lost my copy so I’m saying all this from memory, but I beat the game like twice so it should be ok.

I think it was a PS4 game, or something. It was definitely next-gen, definitely. The cell shaded graphics were pretty good, but its color palate was washed out. It was mostly greys, and blacks, and reds, and um… grays, which made a lot of the game blend together. And it ran ok, usually reaching 60, except for the occasional hiccups that you’d expect from an action hack-and-slash with visual novel elements. I’m pretty sure it was a PS4 game, but I don’t remember. The disc had no label, just some shoddy writing in permanent marker:  
‘ **SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG 2** ’, ‘ **DEMO** ’.

Obviously I popped that sucker in and booted ‘er up. I got some soda and my favorite vices, and I was ready to kill the day with whatever this mysterious cursed game had in store. I’m pretty sure it started out something like this…

**1**

Shadow the Hedgehog was alone in his apartment on a Saturday night, scrolling through Scrambler.

His _‘Friend Feed,’_ whatever that nonsense was supposed to mean, was filled with cheery pictures of all the happy lives his cohorts lived. There was Tails, improving the tornado, surely a satisfying technical feat. There was Rouge the Bat, decked out in some frivolous new gems. Oh Rouge, Shadow thought, you told me I was like a little brother. It had been weeks since she ghosted him. And then there was Sonic, this picture was from his birthday party. Sonic was opening a brightly wrapped gift, while Tails looked on nervously. Knuckles had his hand on Tails’s shoulder in an act of gentle reassurance. In the background, Sonic’s other colorful friends cheered him on. He was always the life of the party, Shadow thought, no, Sonic’s life _was_ the party. Shadow remembered being at this party, but he couldn’t remember what the gift had been. Shadow wasn’t in the frame of the picture, either. That made him feel worse, but it wasn’t like he had had any fun there.

Shadow closed his laptop. It was pointless to keep looking through Scrambler, there was nothing of substance on that website. He wasn’t in the mood to play an MMO, either. He wasn’t in the mood to simply waste his time. Force of habit compelled him to check his cell phone. His most recent text from Rouge was still in his inbox, and Shadow felt like he had been cut with a knife. There were no new messages.

He stood up from his futon. It was cheap and uncomfortable, like the rest of the furniture there. As he walked through his living room, he took note of how barren it was. There were no decorations, except for the two fully automatic Glock 22 pistols mounted on the plain white wall. Usually, Shadow thought that decorations were trivial things, but tonight their absence made his home seem all the more empty.

There were few dirty dishes in his kitchen, Shadow rarely cooked. Instead, the countertops were stacked with old take-out boxes, most of them from the Crawling Dragon. The food may have been long gone, but all of the old scents still lingered, combining into a miasma that was probably appetizing at one point, but by now was putrid. Who knows, maybe the smell would still be appetizing to a dog. And there were flies, little ones that you might mistake for dust bunnies in the air, if they didn’t insist on gunning it straight into your eye. Disgusting creatures invading my space, Shadow thought. It was no wonder he didn’t use his kitchen. He picked up a few of the dirty boxes and stuffed them into the trash can, it was already overfull. It would take more than a few black bags to clear this mess. Shadow was opening up a new garbage bag when,

_Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock._

There came a knock from his front door. Shadow didn’t feel fear, but the sudden interruption in the silence might have startled him. He didn’t know who his caller could be. A GUN officer would have used a battering ram, and Rouge usually knocked in a cutesy way. Omega didn’t visit.

The knocking came again, it was louder this time. **_Knock, knock,_** _**knock, knock, knock.**_ Shadow crept back into the living room where the door was. It was heavy and secured shut by two locks, one on the knob itself and another deadbolt further up. There was no peephole, but a length of chain allowed the door to be opened partway. Shadow unlocked both locks. _Knock, knock,_

“Who are you?” Shadow couldn’t make out who it was on the other side of the door. It was a shadowy figure in the darkness, obscured by the sheer wall of the apartment complex.

“Will you let me in?” the shadowy figure asked, then added, “I am friendly.”

Shadow had no patience for nonsense such as this. “Get out of my sight,” he said.

“Will you let me in?” the shadowy figure repeated. “I know what you wish for. I can give it to you. Will you let me in? I can grant your wishes. I can give you power. I am friendly.” It moved to _knock_ on the door once more. “Will you let me in?” 

The words made Shadow want to sneer, such ingratiating cowardice, but something made him hesitate. The figure emanated a terrible power that Shadow could not overlook. Stricken by this realization, Shadow unlatched the chain.

● ● ●

The figure wasted no time in making itself at home. It sat on the futon, sprawled out there, stretching its limbs.

Shadow squared his vision on the figure, narrowing his gaze. Despite it coming into the fluorescent light of his apartment, Shadow still could not tell who, or what, this figure was. The more he focused on it, the more it seemed to obfuscate itself.

“What do you want from me?” he asked it.

“Ah,” the figure said, “is it not the other way around? Is it not what _you_ want from _me_?”

Shadow scowled and crossed his arms.

“You lack something you want,” the figure said, “and you have been unable to obtain it.” It paused, then said, “It is because you lack power.”

Shadow allowed himself a single, prideful laugh.

“Power?” he asked, “What do _you_ know about power? I am the ultimate life form. You’d do best to shut your mouth.”

The figure showed no discomfort. Even its blurred outline seemed stationary. It was like a pencil sketch that had been erased.

“Your blue counterpart,” it retorted, “has more power than you.”

“Preposterous,” said Shadow, “Sonic lacks my innate ability. I could easily best him. You know _nothing_.”

“I know he has something that you want,” the figure said, “something you have not obtained through your current efforts. I know it is because you lack power.”

Shadow was losing his patience. The figure’s speech was proposition and double-talk.

“I am losing my patience,” said Shadow. “Your speech is proposition and double-talk.”

“Ah,” the figure responded, “but you understand what I mean.”

Shadow paused.

“Yes,” he said.

“And I know,” the figure told him, “that you have yet to master Chaos Control.”

This was truly blasphemous. Shadow’s connection to chaos energy had been with him since he was created. His power gave him command over time and space itself. He had exhausted his life when he teleported the Space Colony ARK, and miraculously, he had returned stronger. Surely, no being could use Chaos Control as well as he could.

“You will regret your impudent talk,” Shadow said, “or I will show you how wrong you are. My mastery of Chaos Control will rend you in two.”

The figure took the threat like an invitation.

“How can you have mastered Chaos Control when you cannot control the chaos in your own life?” it asked. “You cannot claim to.”

For a moment, Shadow could not think of any words to say. Then he asked, “And _you_ have the power to teach me control over chaos?”

“Isn’t that what you sensed before?”

“Yes,” Shadow agreed. “Then teach me. What do I need to do?”

If the figure’s lines could smile, it would have. It would have filled the room with laughter. Instead, it shifted in the seat.

“Not now,” it said. “Your first lessons, your first tests, they will come in time.”

Then, it disappeared…


	2. Chapter 2

**2**

The conversation stayed with Shadow throughout the next day. It had been so disrespectful, so arrogant, and yet, there was something enticing in its offer. To think, the ultimate life form had not reached its limits. 

The growl that broke his thoughts was not that of a hellhound, but of his own stomach. Shadow would have to eat. He went into the kitchen and took out a box of corn flakes from the pantry. He filled a bowl, then walked over to his fridge. Shadow grimaced when he sniffed the milk. Of course. It was sour. He would have to retrieve another carton.

Shadow unbound his front door again, and squinted when the sun’s rays confronted him. He didn’t remember the last time he had been outside, and he didn’t care to remember either.

***

Ok, so, while Shadow is locking his door in Apartment Alley here, he gets jumped by a GUN officer, and the game uses it as an opportunity to teach its battle mechanics to the player. I’ll give a quick rundown (hehe) of how Shadow plays to save some time, ‘cuz it’s not like the game’s tutorial is skippable. 

Shadow the Hedgehog 2 is a third-person action game. The right stick controls the camera, and there is a hard lock-on when it’s clicked. Obviously, Shadow is controlled with the left stick. Clicking the left stick centers the camera. He has a health bar and a Chaos Energy meter which gives him access to certain special moves. The Chaos meter can be filled through fighting enemies, higher combos up the gauge faster. It can be filled using a dedicated charge move, and it replenishes slowly over time. The fur face buttons correspond to light attack, heavy attack, Chaos Spear, and jump by default. Chaos Spear, like it sounds, is a projectile that uses chaos energy. There is a dedicated Chaos Control button, LB by default. Chaos Control drains meter, but it stops time and lets Shadow move and attack before starting again. Shadow can also teleport by pressing Chaos Spear, jump, and a direction. This uses Chaos Energy, but it’s faster and it grants more movement options than his dodge move (which is mapped to LT, by the way). Chaos Blast has its own dedicated button too, RB, and it’s used as a guard break. Some bad guys have shields that can be shattered with it, and it can interrupt enemy attacks if timed propurrly. The remaining buttons, RT and the D-pad, don’t get used until later in the game. 

It’s easy beating up the single goon, most of this segment is spent reading through text. The game gets a little less handhold-y after that. Shadow the Hedgehog 2 actually has a hub world, unlike Sonic Adventure 3 which has a level select like in Adventure 2. In STH2, Shadow explores the gritty side of Circle City, the starting and ending level from SA3. Apartment Alley leads out into the Bazaar, a sketchy side street with all sorts of shops and stuff. Here, Shadow can buy health packs, temporary damage boosters, grenades and other stuff to make the game easier, but I’m a pro so I never bought any of that. The shop also sells a wall scroll of a fox in a bikini that costs all of Shadow’s starting cash. Obviously, _that_ I had to buy. It unlocks a little extra dialogue, too.

“Oh that?” asked the shopkeeper, a badger with a mole on his cheek. “Only 1250 rings. It’s the last one I got in stock, too.”

“I normally don’t buy things like this,” Shadow said.

“Not normally?” said the badger. “Maybe today’s the day, huh? Look, it’s pretty nice, right?”

It was nice. Shadow couldn’t stop staring into her big beautiful… um, eyes.

“It’s her blue eyes,” Shadow said. “They’re so… doe-y.”

“Hate to break it to you, but your doe’s a vixen, pal,” said the badger.

Shadow glowered. He pointed his gloved hand across the counter.

“How dare you,” he said. “You must not repeat such petulant nonsense.”

“Whoa, you got me all wrong,” the shopkeeper raised his arms like he was being held at gunpoint. “That’s Foxy the Fox! She’s a famous model, you tellin’ me you don’t know her?”

Shadow lowered his arm, but not his gaze.

“No,” he said. “I don’t.”

“Well now you do,” said the shopkeeper, “and today’s your lucky day, pal. Look, do you want it or not?”

Shadow looked away.

“Yeah,” he muttered.

The grocery store is the next shop down the road, there’s a crate of leafy cabbages outside its obvious red entryway. Because I always buy the Foxy Wall Scroll (that’s the item name, by the way), Shadow has no rings to spend on milk. When he goes to the supermarket, he can’t buy it, so the game introduces a little moral choice system. Here, Shadow can either steal the milk, or he can go out and find money to buy it. There are a few moral choices like this peppered throughout the game, and from what I can tell, none of them make any difference.

When Shadow takes the milk, he’s spotted by a group of GUN officers. ‘That guy’s stealing milk!’ they shout. ‘And he’s Shadow the Hedgehog! Get him!’

It’s an easy encounter, or at least, it was easy fur me. After each fight, there’s a result screen that ranks Shadow and rewards him with rings. This one is pretty easy to A rank, and it always gives Shadow enough cash to buy the milk.

On the way back to Apartment Alley, there’s a little cat hanging out by some knocked-over garbage cans. Shadow can choose to give it milk or ignore it, and I mean, really, what kind of asshole would choose to ignore a little kitty cat nyaaa? So I pick yes and Shadow dramatically rips open the carton of milk, then pours it into the lid of the trash can (the cat’s not picky), and the cat laps it up. Just when he’s about to leave, the GUN cops spot Shadow (again!) and chase after him. ‘Look! That guy’s feeding a cat!’ they shout. ‘And he’s Shadow the Hedgehog! Get him!’

Two of the officers in this crowd have riot shields, and Shadow has to use Chaos Blast to damage them effectively. This is where the game throws just enough enemies at the player to show them what it’s all about, and Shadow either learns to combo or loses most of his health. Even on my first playthough, I’m pretty sure I juggled most of the guys using Shadow’s teleport. Yeah, I’m just that good.

When Shadow returns to his apartment, there’s this whole decorating mechanic that the game uses the wall scroll as an opportunity to introduce. Throughout the game, Shadow can acquire different posters and furniture and stuff for his apartment, and his living room can be customized. This is mostly aesthetic, though it does affect the look of the title screen (which shows the state of Shadow’s living room throughout the game), and placing certain items, like the Foxy Wall Scroll, will lead to bonus dialogue. Kinda like this:

“What are you doing?” said a voice from behind.

Shadow turned around to see the figure behind him, making itself at home on the couch.

“I should be asking you the same thing,” Shadow said. “How did you get in here?”

“I have always been here,” it told him.

“No,” Shadow said. “I locked the door. How did you get in?”

“I have always been here.”

Shadow thought that was bullshit, but he knew his words wouldn’t work here.

“What is that?” the figure said.

Shadow looked back at the wall scroll. “Oh that?” he said. “I thought it would help me… On my quest.”

“Is that so?” asked the figure.

“Yes,” said Shadow. “I think it will help me to… visualize my goals.”

“Very good,” said the figure.

“Did you show yourself merely to comment on my choice in decor?” questioned Shadow.

“Not quite,” quoth the figure. “Your journey begins today. I require a task of you.”


	3. Chapter 3

**3**

**  
** Ok so, the first level, I don’t have a whole lot to say about it. The beginning part is a little bit of a walking simulator, which like, why would you want to walk in a Sonic game, I mean, a Shadow game? I don’t want that, it’s just a long cutscene. I also think it’s funny how Shadow uses his guns in the cutscene here when he doesn’t use guns in the gameplay. I don’t think this was some deep message that the game developers were trying to say though, I think it’s just because the game’s unfinished. Anyways, here’s what happens next.

● ● ●

What a loathsome place… What a detestable, despicable place. That persnickety figure had some gall to send him here. To put it another way, Shadow was hunted in the streets, the target of GUN’s wanton cruelty. The feeble souls who gathered here had no forces like that to avoid, no true opposition within their puny lives. They were the worst type of people. Truly, that was how Shadow knew he was superior, more powerful than these ilk. There were many places to draw out one’s evening in Circle City. This one was a hiding spot for the sad. 

Shadow was even disgusted by the old woman who greeted him upon his arrival. A contorted old crone covered in warts, he thought, she was probably a witch. Truly, this was a place where witches gathered with their covens, where those unhinged temptresses met to practice foul recreations like reading and tentacle stuff. The thought made him shudder. It would be best to leave here with what he needed as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, that was an easier feat in theory. _In theory_ , if one was searching for a needle in a haystack, a giant magnet could be utilized effectively. Searching for a book at the library, on the other hand, was like looking for one particular piece of hay in a haystack.

Shadow gently touched the two pistols at his hips, and it gave him some momentary reassurance as he ventured further into the bowels of the premises. The tall, gothic windows had cobwebs in the hard to reach places, and let in no light from the dark, damp evening. The bookshelves reached the ceiling, and the cracked tomes weighing them down smelled like uninviting mildew. The more open area towards the center was no better. It, too, was overcast by the looming rows of shelves. Shadow took special care to avoid the people reading there, even as he searched for his book.

Shadow found staircases dotting each corner of the building. Some led up, some led down, some had “Caution – Wet Floor” signs which Shadow ignored. He had to press on, no matter what. If this place was a labyrinth, then he would be its Minotaur.

Atop a spiral metal staircase which hung precariously like a newborn’s mobile, past yet another row of bookshelves, Shadow came to an atrium of sorts. Here, at the topmost point of the library, the bookshelves thinned out and the great windows became prominent. Opposite the stairway, towards the back of the room, there was an ornate stone door. For an instant, a flash of lightning illuminated the library, its quiet was disquieted by the grumble of thunder, and soon afterwards, the rain came beating down. Shadow pushed the stone door, but it wouldn’t budge. He pushed it again, harder this time, still to no avail. Shadow _pulled_ the stone door, and finally it opened. The room it led to was big enough for a single occupant. It was dark, nearly pitch black, and the air was colder here than it was in the rest of the library. It was a bunker, no, a sepulcher, Shadow thought. Any dark knowledge that _this_ institution would lay to rest surely must be what he was looking for.

The spines on the back of his neck tingled when he saw it. On a plinth in the center of the room, there laid a black book. The handle of a letter opener stuck out from its top like a bookmark. Shadow grasped the book. He left the stone crypt and breathed a sigh of relief. It was finally time to leave this godforsaken place.

When he was about halfway through the atrium, Shadow examined the book. No matter what he tried, its pages would not budge. It was as if they were glued together. Odd. Perhaps that _thing_ back at his apartment would know more about this.

Shattering glass broke Shadow from his thoughts. A dozen GUN troopers crashed through the windows of the library, machine guns at the ready.

“He’s got the book, get him!” shouted one, and the squad opened fire.

Shadow was ready for this predictable move. First he froze time with Chaos Control, then he casually strode away from the bullets.

“You’re disrupting the silence…” he said, “here of all places.”

Shadow placed the book on a table in front of him, then he reached for his own guns. He fired four expertly-aimed headshots, which killed four officers instantly when he unfroze time. That left just eight. Shadow ducked behind the table for cover, then unleashed another barrage from his automatic pistols. Another one down, make that two, these cops were weaklings. A hail of machine gun fire destroyed the table Shadow hid behind, forcing him to dash across the room. He shot as he ran, taking the lives of another two officers.

When he stopped in the center of the room, he was surrounded by the remaining four GUN troopers. Shadow was right where they wanted him to be, or so they thought.

Shadow clenched his fists. He gathered up an intense supply of Chaos energy and channeled it into his throat. 

“Chaos…” Shadow’s throat was burning, he could feel the Chaos energy pulsing outwards across his spine, up through the top of his head and down through his toes. The ground shook, or maybe his perception shook. “BLAST!”

The GUN troopers’ corpses were strewn about among the wreckage like ragdolls in the wake of Shadow’s attack. Pathetic, thought Shadow, those weaklings didn’t stand a chance _._

Then came an ominous hum. The black book, which had been knocked to the ground, was surrounded by a purple energy. The purple energy crept along the floor, enveloping the dead bodies of each cop one by one. The tome shook, but never fell open. The corpses writhed in tune. Indecipherable glyphs materialized on the windows and in the air where the windows had been before they were broken. The night sky turned red. Thunder clapped in reverse and the rain fell upwards.

The purple aura around each corpse shook, it rose and fell. Tubers grew from its plum mat then merged back into its surface. The tubers became longer, wider. They became hands. They grew arms which pushed themselves up from the ground, and lifted their translucent purple torsos from the ether. Finally, they stood, hunched forward with the weight of the afterlife. The ghosts of twelve dead cops surrounded Shadow, the thoughtless anger of purgatory contorted on their faces. Each brandished a baton.

When the specters approached, Shadow shot, but the bullets passed through their bodies. A real and sickening pain met the back of Shadow’s head when he was struck from behind.

From the corner of his eye, Shadow noticed the book. He rolled to it and grabbed it in one swift motion. Whatever was happening, this book was the cause. Shadow tried with all his might to pry it open, but still the book remained shut. Seizing Shadow’s distracted state as a moment of opportunity, the ethereal GUN squad sank into the floor and then rematerialized around him. Shadow aimed a kick at the crotch of the nearest spirit, but his physical body could not affect its intangible form. In retaliation, one of the officers cracked his bludgeon square into Shadow’s forehead and the hedgehog saw stars. Shadow was knocked prone. His weapons were useless, and he had no Chaos energy left.

The souls of the cops kicked Shadow while he was down. A combat boot to the diaphragm forced the air from his lungs and made Shadow taste his own blood. Behind him, he heard the heavy skid of the stone room’s door being pulled open. Then Shadow himself was grabbed by the skull. He was piled upon by the spirits, which interlocked now into a cloud with many legs and bodies. He was dragged backwards across the cold floor. Shadow kicked and flailed, but he could not come into contact with the forces that subdued him. He peered behind him at the entrance of the crypt he neared unwillingly, and saw an empty void. It was the very pit of the place.

The stone room seemed to eat the light around it, and even the otherworldly purple glow of the ghosts became shrouded. Inside, Shadow could see nothing, which only intensified the sensations about to befall him.

The anxious chugging of pins and needles became the bites of a million fire ants as Shadow’s particles, physical and spiritual, were obliterated from this realm of existence. The pain was unlike anything Shadow had felt before, and Shadow had known pain. He had fallen through space and felt the friction of the world when he burned up in the atmosphere. He knew the oppressive ache of amnesia. He had lost companions he can no longer recall, and he felt the pang of each severed connection. He knew what it was like to look in the mirror and see a clone staring back. This pain was worse. Shadow was being dragged down to hell unfulfilled.

He pried at the edges of the book but still it would not budge. The sheer dark of the room gave way to a tunnel, and Shadow saw a round light at its end. He tried to scream, but had no breath. The approaching light filled his perception. It was warm, inviting, but Shadow wasn’t ready for whatever was beyond that point. He felt the edges of the book, found the handle of the paper cutter. He was becoming lost in the light, the soft light. It was restful there. He felt like he might be close to Maria.

No, Shadow thought, it can’t end like this. I’m sorry Maria. I’ll see you again, I swear.

With the last of his effort, Shadow pulled the paper cutter from the book. He cut through the light, and through the dark of the tunnel. His breath returned and he screamed from the bottom of his throat. He hacked away the souls that held him back and broke free from their grasp. He sliced the stone door of the crypt. When he emerged, the paper cutter in his hand had become a katana. Its white hilt was adorned with a red gem. The black book opened and Shadow looked into it. All of its pages were blank. The book contained no words, but the blade had a title which etched itself clearly in Shadow’s mind. It was called the Ink-Stained Quill.

The twelve dead cops appeared around him, more livid than ever now that he’d escaped their clutches. Shadow smiled. It was time for another unfair fight. When he slashed one of them with his blade, it reeled back in agony and a viscous, jade-colored goo poured out from the wound. Ectoplasm, thought Shadow, the blood of spirits. With an upward strike he forced his foe into the air, and then jumped up to toy with the peon. After three precise slashes he was sure the soul was banished. He finished with a plummeting attack that knocked the other ghosts backward. The katana thrummed in his hand, eager for more. Shadow could feel his Chaos energy rebuilding.

He teleported away and channeled energy into his blade. The resulting Chaos Spear was a wide projectile which rendered two of the ghostly officers in half.

“Pathetic,” Shadow said.

He ran to the others, and caught three enemies with one swipe of his sword, paralyzing them with a brutally fast onslaught of attacks. One trooper managed to break free from the slaughter, flanking Shadow and raising his baton to strike. Shadow was too fast for this tired old move, however. He teleported behind the trooper, then stabbed clear through his back. The ghoul spat up its foul green ectoplasm, then crumpled to the floor. Now six of the officers had been exorcised, leaving little more than stains behind. Shadow was certain there would be no afterlife for them. The spirits had been purged from every plane.

Shadow turned to face the others. His right eye twitched and he grinned through gritted teeth. The remaining six officers trembled, their fury usurped by sheer terror. Shadow took one step forward, and the GUN cops ran, disappearing down the metal stairwell. Typical cowardice, Shadow thought, why did he expect any different? He followed after them. 

On the lower level, Shadow walked between narrow rows of bookshelves. Some of the books had been knocked to the ground. They were half-eaten and covered in sticky spittle. Shadow heard a skittering sound in the distance and felt vibrations in the floor through his feet. There was a series of deafening slams, then everything was quiet again. Something else was in here.

Shadow rounded a corner and came face to face with another unwelcome guest. Seated on the floor with its legs crossed was a giant, a demon with a squat stature and leathery skin. It looked not unlike a man, if a man’s form could resemble a pitcher or a jug. It wore nothing, and had wiry, shoulder-length hair around its bald crown. It had skinny arms and legs despite its stoutness. The beady gray eyes bulging from its head revealed curiosity and boredom in equal parts.

There was a terrified ghost of one of the GUN troopers near its lap. The grotesque slouch chased it with a bony hand, toying with its prey. It picked the officer up by the leg and dangled it above its broad, lipless mouth. Its jaw snapped open like a hatch, and for a moment, its face was the ugliest flower Shadow had seen. Rows of pointy, off-white teeth surrounded its fleshy pink throat hole. The officer screamed. Up through the demon’s gullet there came a black and white striped tendril tongue, which coiled around the pitiful soul. In the next moment, the beast’s tongue retracted like a tape measure, and the officer was swallowed whole.

Shadow drew his Ink-Stained Quill once more. He charged towards the demon, dodging a wide swipe of its arm. He hacked at its feet and legs, but it was to little avail. The slouch reached for Shadow again, grabbing him this time. It squeezed hard with its otherworldly strength, and Shadow thought his eyes might burst from his skull. The creature brought the hedgehog up to its face, then flipped its jaw open once more. Its breath smelled like piss and daffodils. Sickened, Shadow struggled to break free. The beast regurgitated its stripy tongue, which hovered about Shadow as if it could taste his scent. In the last moment, Shadow stabbed through the slouch’s hand, and cut himself out of its grasp. He slashed at the tongue, and the beast’s head snapped shut. Still midair, Shadow sheathed his sword and punched at the demon. He got three good hits into its eye before landing. The demon covered its face, reeled backwards in pain, but Shadow’s counterattack wasn’t over yet.

“Chaos CONTROL!” he shouted, and time stopped.

Shadow switched back to his katana. He stuck the blade right into the slouch’s belly, then wrenched it upwards with incredible force. He removed the sword and dodged backwards. Time began to move again. 

The beast let out a high-pitched wail as its gut ruptured open. The thing could scream, thought Shadow, who knew? If something can scream, then it can surely bleed. If something can bleed, then it can die.

Three of the GUN officer’s partially digested spirits stumbled out of the chest wound, their faces rotten open with acid, seeping foul ecto-gunk. They ran blindly through the cramped corridor. Shadow expected them to move like they had before, and he got clipped by one of them when he dodged the wrong way. It was a rookie mistake, he told himself. Shadow swiped at one of the ghosts, but took minor damage from the stomach acid covering it.

The slouch beat the ground aimlessly with its fists, overwhelmed with pain and fury. Shadow teleported back the way he’d came, making some distance between himself and his foes. He charged a Chaos Spear through his sword. When he unleashed it, the projectile finished off two of the already weakened ghosts and still had enough juice in it to glance the grotesque slouch. He ran forward once more and cut through the third spirit, making sure to dodge immediately after attacking to avoid the acid’s splash-back.

Now, the leathery demon was the only enemy left in his path. It looked to Shadow as if the thing might die on its own, given its maimed state, but he didn’t want to wait for that eventuality. He was an executioner, not a bystander. Shadow put his katana away and clenched his fists. He approached the mangled beast, ready to handle things the old-fashioned way.

To Shadow’s surprise, the beast laid backwards, causing a resounding thud. Its sheared belly rippled like a mound of pudding. Shadow thought that this might be it for the damned thing. He had been too slow on his approach, and now, he missed out on the thrill because of it. He got closer to the fallen demon, trying to find a way to step around its large frame. A gurgling sound came from inside the thing. Its face twitched uncomfortably. Its belly rumbled once more.

Shadow was well aware of what happened to the bodies of humans, and mobians, after death. He wasn’t sure whether or not demons went through the same process, but he hoped they didn’t.

The beast shuddered one final time and the air filled with a foul smell. Oh no, thought Shadow, please no.

Then, bursting forth from its gaping chest, the great striped tongue reached upwards like a maligned tree trunk. It swiped for Shadow immediately, but he was deft enough to dodge. Shadow returned the favor with a punch of his own. The tongue squished inwards upon impact. It was like punching a beanbag chair, a sticky one. The grotesque slouch, still clinging to this realm, mashed its limbs wildly, pounding upon the floor. Shadow was nearly flattened by its mighty foot. He teleported backwards down the hallway, but was still within range of the tongue. The stripy appendage swirled, then made a wide horizontal sweep towards Shadow. Shadow jumped, dodging it nimbly. He threw three Chaos Spears midair, but when they hit the tendril, the energy dissipated with no effect.

Shadow landed, and the tongue reeled back like a snake about to bite. It lashed out, but Shadow avoided the attack with a step to the side. It struck again, and this time, Shadow grabbed hold of it. He pinched the tendril between his forearm and bicep with one arm and clung to it with the other. He widened his stance, and pulled, hard. The tongue wrapped further around Shadow, first constricting him, then trying to whip him upwards. The stalwart hedgehog remained grounded, however, and the two engaged in an awful tug-of-war. Shadow’s arms weakened from his asphyxiation. For a second, he trembled. He thought he might turn blue, a terrible fate indeed.

Shadow’s vision blurred. He pulled harder. He heard a snap, but the tongue still tugged him back. Shadow was losing ground now, covered in slime and overwhelmed by a sweet and sickening scent. It was all he could do to grimace. Shadow tried to take a step back, but couldn’t. He tried to lean his whole body back, and when he did, it only tightened the tendril’s grip. His heart felt like it might pop. Then, he heard another snap. The tongue loosed, and Shadow yanked. With one strong heave, Shadow dislocated the appendage from the beast. Its long stripy tendril was attached to a mound that had once been inside its belly. The severed tongue-and-stomach looked like a potato with a shoot. It twitched once, then lay motionless on the floor. In a moment, the tongue and the slouch both faded away.

“Disgusting creature,” said Shadow, “go back to hell where you belong.”

He continued past the stain on the floor where the slouch had been, and rounded a corner through yet another row of bookshelves. For a second, he could have sworn he heard laughing, but there was no one else around. When he reached the open area in the center of this floor, he found a barrier of some sort in his way. It looked like a wall of light. Shadow could not see through it.

He pressed his hand to it. It was cold like glass and it pulsed with energy. Whatever this ward was, it wasn’t hurting Shadow. He pushed forwards and stepped right through the barrier.

What Shadow saw on the inside, he found dreadful. He put his hand to the hilt of his blade, reflexively. God dammit, he thought, it’s just my rotten luck.

Maria once told Shadow he’d meet girls like this. Nine witches in hooded black robes sat around a table, cackling and guffawing to each other. Of course, they had noticed Shadow entering through their barrier. One of the witches at the head of the table, who looked like she was leading whatever dirty ritual they had all gathered for, turned to look at Shadow. She withdrew her hood so that he could see her face.

“Hi!” said the orange squirrel. There was a scar on the right side of her chin. “You must have some powerful magic to get through our wall.”

She was cute, Shadow thought, for a witch.

“I’m a Chaos mage, self-taught,” he said.

The other witches giggled and the squirrel smiled.

“I’m Tammy,” she said, “the desiccated Squirrel. What’s your name, Chaos mage?”

“My name is Shadow,” he said, and then, “wait… Why desiccated?”

“Well, I’m polyamorous,” she said, “but I’m not gonna tell you _everything_ about my life.”

Shadow was confused. He wasn’t sure how being polyamorous factored into being desiccated.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“It means I date multiple people,” Tammy said. “Actually, all of us are poly!”

That didn’t clarify what confused him, Shadow had already known what polyamory was. He didn’t have much desire to know more about the life and times of ‘Tammy the desiccated Squirrel,’ but the thought of a coven of lesbian witches interested him… for some reason.

“Does that mean you’re all dating each other?” he asked.

“Oh no,” Tammy said, “I think only Carla and Lulu are dating each other. Most of us are dating Dexter.”

Of course, Shadow thought. He clenched his fists. _Dexter._

“Oh! I should introduce everyone,” said Tammy. “This is Roberta, and this is Carla, here’s Leigh Ann, and this is Tristin from Blue Ridge Zone. Here’s Lulu, and Becky is sitting there to the left.”

One of the hooded women, presumably Becky, waved at Shadow.

“This is Tabitha,” Tammy continued, “and this is Lindsay. She’s our newest acolyte.”

They all wore matching hooded robes, and Shadow had a hard time telling who was who. He felt pressed for time, however. He hardly wanted to waste another minute with this meet and greet.

“Now that we’re done with introductions,” he said, “I have an important mission to get back to.”

“Oh,” Tammy looked disappointed. “That’s okay. We’re in the middle of stuff too. Hey wait! Do you have a phone? We should keep in touch!”

Shadow didn’t really want to give his number to the strange witch, but he knew he’d look like a loser if he said no. He figured that knowing a polyamorous witch might prove fruitful somewhere down the line. Reluctantly, he allowed for the exchange of numbers.

“Farewell Tammy,” Shadow said.

“Stay safe!” said Tammy. “It’s gotten freaky out there!”

Tammy returned to her group, and Shadow turned his back on them. Before he left the force field, he heard Tammy address the coven.

“Alright girls, books open! Tentacles and pentacles, you know the drill!”

Outside the witches’ barrier, all was quiet save for some muffled laughter. Shadow continued through the library until he found the staircase which led to the ground floor. Finally, he thought, it was time to leave this place.

When he climbed down the staircase, Shadow saw what had caused the slamming sounds from earlier. Many of the bookshelves on the ground floor had been toppled over like dominoes. Atop one of the fallen shelves there was a horrid millipede with an oil-colored carapace. It must have been over ten feet in length. The prehistoric mandible which adorned the creature’s front side crunched upon an atlas. The ultimate life form shrugged. At least nothing of value was lost.

Shadow observed as the three remaining ghostly officers crept up to it. In unison, they raised their combat boots and tried to stomp the oversized bug. A loud screech came from underneath the millipede, but aside from that, it was unfazed. It climbed over one of the ghosts, crushing it instantly. Shadow couldn’t see clearly what happened after that, but judging by the splatter of ectoplasm, it couldn’t have been pretty. The two other ghosts ran, but the millipede pursued. It was fast, Shadow noted. It crushed, and splattered, the two foolish cops in quick succession, then it went back to gnawing on books.

Shadow crept around the giant insect, hoping he could avoid it. The exit was in sight, he was nearly there. It was no use, however. The millipede somehow alerted to Shadow’s presence, despite his silence. It darted towards and circled around him. Shadow jumped away. He stood still where he landed, he even held his breath, but the millipede rushed at Shadow again. He wondered if it could smell him. He was covered in sweat and ectoplasm, after all. Shadow let loose a quick Chaos Spear, but the creature’s exoskeleton deflected it. He rolled away, then drew his sword.

The millipede was relentless in its pursuit. Wherever Shadow dodged to, it followed after. It wasn’t stunned when Shadow slashed at it, either. It barreled through the attack and climbed on top of Shadow. The hedgehog couldn’t see, but he felt hundreds of tiny pincers searing through his flesh. He gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, and unleashed a Chaos Blast, knocking the bug off of him. Shadow stood. He stared at his foe. The thing writhed in a coil for a brief moment, then it righted itself again. It screeched at Shadow and the hedgehog covered his ears. Then, the giant millipede arched its body back so that it was vertical. Embedded in its underbelly was the head of a baby. It was pale white like a porcelain doll. The face frowned that terrible frown that only babies are capable of, then screeched once more. It puckered its lips and spat out orbs of staticky black energy which homed in on Shadow. First, the hedgehog somersaulted under one, then he jumped over two others, closing the gap between himself and his foe. Shadow felt a pang of déjà vu, which was not uncommon for the amnesiac hedgehog, but he wasted no time with reminiscence. His foe was here and now. Shadow jumped up. He hacked at the underbelly, and at the porcelain head.

This time, Shadow’s attacks had the desired effect. The baby’s face winced in pain, and it wailed like a siren from hell. In the next instant, the bookworm slammed downwards upon Shadow, and it clawed at him once more. Shadow’s energy reserves were low, and he could not use Chaos Blast to free himself from the attack. He struggled as much as he could, and eventually managed to roll out from underneath it, but not without losing a considerable amount of blood. The thing screeched again and went back on the offensive. It chased Shadow down, following his every move. It stood vertical again. This time, instead of shooting orbs through its pursed lips, it blew a raspberry. Instead of screaming, it spoke gibberish… baby talk.

When Shadow slashed at the bookworm, he cut clean through it, not once, but twice. The millipede fell to the ground in three equal segments. Each piece twitched, then got up again. Now three of the dreadful insects pursued Shadow. He swiped with his sword while they circled around him, but it seemed like only the piece with the head could be damaged. The segments looked identical, and they shuffled positions constantly so that the hedgehog couldn’t tell which one he was attacking. Each piece took turns trying to squash Shadow, but by now, he knew how to dodge their approach. 

The three millipedes arched backwards, standing upright like three totems, and the face was revealed. It was grinning, laughing at Shadow. Enraged, the hedgehog slashed wildly at it, trying to get as many hits in as possible before it pummeled back into to the ground. He could feel his Chaos energy rebuilding. The bookworm had speed but little stamina, its fatal flaw. In the midst of Shadow’s onslaught, the baby shrieked and the three bugs fell limp. Its head loosed from the underbelly and it rolled away, sobbing. You can’t escape me, Shadow thought. As if he’d let something so putrid survive.

“Chaos Control!” he shouted, and time froze.

He put his katana away and ran up to the head, then he grasped it with both hands. Shadow unfroze time. He wanted the creature to experience what was about to come next. With his thumbs, he pressed down into the porcelain face’s eye sockets. The baby screamed, but Shadow continued. He applied more pressure, and more and more, until its skull cracked like pottery. Then, all was silent.

Shadow walked towards the library’s exit. There was nobody at the front desk, but Shadow still wondered whether he should attempt to check the book out or not. He decided to steal it. Amongst all the confusion and destruction, a single book would hardly be missed. He left the library and stepped back into the night air of Circle City.

“Shadow…” the voice was familiar.

The hedgehog looked and saw his mysterious mentor, the shrouded figure. He continued up the street and the figure floated alongside him. 

“It is a good thing you found the book,” it said.

“No thanks to you,” said Shadow. “That shithole was a death trap. And just what are you trying with this book of yours? It’s blank, yet it raised the dead and brought hell with it.”

“Behind you,” replied the figure. “Your next lesson.”

Shadow turned around. There, floating in the middle of the road despite its massive size and tiny wings, was the Black Bull, a gargantuan, maggot-like creature with one loathsome green eye. It heaved and undulated uncomfortably. Truly, this creature was like the essence of discomfort.

“To control your future,” said the figure, “you must learn to control your past.”


End file.
